On Saturday morning we flew to New Zealand and drove up to Whangarei, 2 hours north of Auckland. On Sunday morning we visited the Whangarei Falls and then Ruapekapeka Pa Track (the site of the the last battle of the Northern Wars, fought between British colonial forces and northern Maori).
Then we drove up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. We went on a boat trip through the Bay of Islands. We saw dolphins playing in the water...
More dolphins...
When we left the pod, some of them followed the boat...
The boat moored at Urapukapuka Island Reserve and I climbed the hill for a great view of the Bay...
On Monday (Waitangi Day - a public holiday held on 6 February every year to commemorate the signing of New Zealand's founding document - the Treaty of Waitangi) we drove down to Auckland going over the Auckland Harbour Bridge...
We then went up the Sky Tower for views over eastern Auckland including the Auckland Museum and Parnell district where we spent the night.
and a view out across the harbour toward Rangitoto Island...
No trip to Middle Earth would be complete without My Precious at the Weta display inside the Sky Tower complex...
A walk around Auckland Harbour....
On Tuesday morning the sun came out and we climbed to the top of One Tree Hill, one of the numerous extinct volcanoes circling Auckland...
A view of Auckland from Mount Eden, the huge crater and extinct volcano...
We then drove out to Thames in the Coromandel Area. We drove up into the Kauaeranga valley where Sarah had time for a swim...
and we climbed up to 'Lookout 76' for a stunning view...
More to follow in Part 2 including Rotorua, Taupo and Waitomo.
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